The programme for Government specifically references starter homes. There is a very strong challenge in housing generally to deliver increased supply but the provision of starter homes to give individuals and families the prospect of owning a home is something we need to deliver on as a Government. Will the Minister of State outline his targets on this?
Sentiment score: 0.24
Yesterday, we saw the figure for house price growth of 8.1% last year. The Minister of State will understand there is a lot of concern among first-time buyers, both individuals and families, that the prospect of owning their own home is getting further and further away from them. That is something the Government needs to be acutely aware of. While I welcome the provisions in the programme for Government and the commitments to the help to buy and first home schemes and the continuation of the croí conaithe, etc., we need to keep these under review and try to do everything we can as a government to make home ownership a reality for as many people as we can. I ask the Minister of State and the Department to redouble their efforts on this with the provision of starter homes, which will allow home ownership to become a reality for the majority.
Sentiment score: 0.33
The target of 15,000 a year is significant and something that the Government will do its level best to achieve. The specific measures I outlined earlier are very welcome. I want to raise one specific point about the first home scheme. It is an important vehicle for home ownership. It is a form of affordable housing, without doubt, but many new properties are falling outside the limits of the scheme. That needs to be reviewed in my constituency of Cork South Central where new three-bed semi detached houses are over the limit for the first home scheme. We do not necessarily want to chase price growth and we do not want to be part of the problem by increasing house prices but we have to examine the scheme if it is not working for many prospective purchasers. Reviewing the home loan and making it more workable and accessible for more people is very welcome and the expansion of the first home scheme to secondhand properties is something that the programme for Government also commits to.
Sentiment score: 0.22
7. Deputy Séamus McGrath asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage his plans for ramping up the delivery of affordable purchase homes and his targets for the coming years. [12532/25]
Sentiment score: 0.00
This also relates to affordable housing. There will be full agreement across the House on the need to increase our delivery of affordable housing. I am pleased that in the city and county of Cork many developments have been brought forward by the city and county councils. My question relates to the ramping up of delivery of affordable housing. It is a critical vehicle for those seeking home ownership. We need to be very ambitious in our targets and I seek detail on that this morning.
Sentiment score: 0.22
I welcome the Government’s commitment. One particular group to whom I have committed to being a strong voice in the House is those prospective purchasers who find themselves falling between the supports. They are those individuals, couples and families who are outside the social housing income limits. Their income is over those limits so they do not qualify for social housing. Affordable housing really should be the vehicle for them to gain home ownership. Unfortunately, we find in many cases that they are not able to avail of the affordable housing schemes simply because they are not affordable enough for them. This issue has been raised previously but we need to provide some assistance to those individuals and families. The affordable housing scheme needs to be reviewed. We need to make it more affordable as well as increasing overall targets and improving our delivery. It has to be accessible and affordable. We have to deal with the cohort who are not currently getting support from Government. I know the programme for Government addresses this but I would like to see it happen at the earliest possible time.
Sentiment score: 0.20
The Minister of State's words of commitment are welcome. Issues relating to additional staff for local authorities are very important. There is a fundamental issue in respect of affordable housing that very often when proposals come to local authorities, the default position seems to be to fall back on social housing delivery rather than affordable housing. That mindset needs to change. We have to build the systems so that affordable housing becomes a reality. The cost to the State of affordable housing is a lot less. It is providing a mechanism for the cohort I described to gain home ownership. We need to ramp it up. Affordable housing needs to be affordable and, at present, in many cases, it is not. The State is already subsidising the delivery of affordable housing to a large extent but we have to do more to give hope to those individuals and families who are trying to gain home ownership. I thank the Minister of State for making specific reference to the schemes in south Cork. They are schemes I am very aware of and I am putting a strong focus on trying to ramp up delivery. It is good to hear the commitment this morning.
Sentiment score: 0.34